The present invention relates in general to water dispensing faucets of the type commonly found in school lavatories, public restrooms, hotel restrooms, office building lavatories, industrial facilities, and homes. More specifically, the present invention relates to soap dispensers that are used in the types of locations described above. It is understandable that when the faucet is intended to deliver water for washing one's hands, a supply of soap should be nearby. When the faucet is in a public location or facility, the soap is usually contained in a sink-mounted or wall-mounted dispenser. Such dispensers are intended to provide some degree of control over the soap usage, compared to bars of soap, and some degree of sanitation considering the multiple users. Nevertheless, there is waste, mess, and inefficiency associated with these types of conventional public soap dispensers.
While these types of soap dispensers may have benefits compared to bars of soap, these dispensers can and often do create a mess on the sink and/or on the floor beneath the dispenser. This mess comes from soap that is dispensed, but not into the hand of the user. This is also wasteful, creating an increased cost. Push button or plunger dispensers require that the palm or hand of the user be opened to receive the soap. However, when the hands of the user are placed under the faucet to obtain water, some portion of the soap is washed off and wasted. Even with the plunger being centered within an inverted dispenser, some of the soap being dispensed can and does end up on the sink or floor.
The present invention is directed to integrating a soap dispenser into another otherwise conventional water-dispensing faucet. By timing and sequencing the delivery of water and the delivery of soap, a cleaner and more efficient means of washing one's hands is provided. By integrating the soap dispensing function into the faucet, a separately mounted dispenser is not required and the associated mess on the sink and/or on the floor is avoided.
The fact that both water and soap are dispensed from the same faucet, combined with the ability to electronically time and sequence both deliveries, means that the sequence and the duration of each delivery interval can be varied to suit a particular need or usage. For example, an initial delivery of water to wet the hands, followed by soap, followed by rinse water would be one possibility. Another option is to permit a second quantity of foam soap to be delivered prior to rinsing. The time duration to wet the hands is minimal while the delay after soap delivery would be longer to provide time to scrub one's hands. The rinse cycle would be adjustable as well.
In addition to integrating the soap dispenser into a water faucet, the present invention is designed to dispense the soap as a foam product. In order to generate a foam consistency for the soap, a liquid soap is mixed with air and pushed through a fine mesh. Considering the normal size of the pump and plunger mechanisms for conventional foamers, such as those for health and beauty aid products, the packaging of the present invention into a faucet, without otherwise altering the exterior size of the faucet, becomes a novel and unobvious aspect of the present invention.
As will be described herein, the initial construction and arrangement of the present invention was conceived in terms of modifying an existing conventional water-dispensing faucet. The important functional blocks, components, and subassemblies are generally described herein as if they are to be added to a modified faucet. However, it should be understood that large scale production of the present invention would likely integrate many of the required functional blocks, components, and subassemblies directly into the faucet. For example, a separate foam mixing chamber that is assembled into the existing faucet could be replaced by a corresponding cavity that is cast and/or machined directly into the faucet body. Regardless of the selected construction style and options as described herein, the soap conduit should be fabricated out of a suitable plastic to avoid corrosion issues.
The generation of soap foam also requires attention to keeping the dispensing tip clear so that it does not clog or dry out if there is an extended period of non-use. This need is also addressed by the present invention. If concerns arise regarding the foam soap being dispensed through the aerator disclosed herein, an opening in the envelope behind the aerator is contemplated.